In today's computer networks, users are utilizing more applications than ever before, and networks utilize application classification technologies to identify precisely which applications are running on the network in order to manage them more effectively. Due to the exponential increase of traffic volume in the network, network compression and optimization techniques were highly adopted. Similar to the network bandwidth growth, cyber-threats has been exponentially growing. Many companies cite cyber threats as the top risk to their operations-higher than even the threat from natural disasters. As a result, encryption of data in computer networks has become critical.
Due to these two problems, many companies are currently using compression, optimization and encryption techniques. However, application classification, and other functions associated with classified applications, conflict with, and are complicated by, the technologies used in wide area networks to compress or encrypt or optimize traffic. Thus, there is a need in the art for a method for classifying and managing applications over compressed or encrypted traffic in a network, including without limitation, a WAN network.